SEN. Bong Go, a champion for health care accessibility and chairman of the Senate Committee on Health and Demography, led the inauguration of the country's 165th Malasakit Center on Friday, May 10.

The center is situated at the Conrado F. Estrella Regional Medical and Trauma Center in Rosales, Pangasinan.

The Malasakit Centers program, a brainchild of Senator Go, streamlines medical assistance programs from various government agencies. This innovative approach, housed under one roof in qualified public hospitals, relieves poor and needy patients from the hassle of visiting multiple offices for government health assistance.

"This program should continue because we should not make it difficult for the patients. We should help them so they no longer have to queue at various agencies to ask for help from the government," said Go in Filipino.

"Let's not wait for them to come to us to beg for help. We should help people experiencing poverty; who else will help each other if not us, our fellow Filipinos? And those who are helpless, hopeless and relying on the government, they should be our priority."

Go pushed for the establishment of Malasakit Centers in 2018 which was later institutionalized under Republic Act 11463, also known as the Malasakit Centers Act of 2019.

This law requires all Department of Health-run hospitals and Philippine General Hospital to establish their own Malasakit Center, with the option available to other public hospitals that meet specific operational standards by the law.

Malasakit Centers are distributed nationwide, with 92 in Luzon, 30 in the Visayas and 43 in Mindanao. There are six in the Ilocos Region, including two in Pangasinan.

The other Malasakit Center in the province is at the Region 1 Medical Center in Dagupan City.

During the center's launch and in support of medical frontliners, Go distributed assistance to 322 hospital staff and 331 patients, such as snacks, groceries, vitamins, masks, shirts, basketballs and volleyballs. There were also select recipients of bicycles, shoes, mobile phones and watches.

Additionally, Go urged concerned agencies during his visit to extend further assistance to indigent patients to help them with their medical needs.

"First of all, I always hear... thank you for the help, thank you for the Super Health Centers, thank you for the Malasakit Center, for all the programs," said Go, an adopted son of Pangasinan.

"Don't thank me. In truth, I should be the one thanking you because I am just a provincial whom you have allowed to serve you. Thank you very much to all of you."